I went to see Solaris yesterday. I had high expectations with the names attached but boy, was it boring. Full review later.

I also caught the Saved by the Bell: True Hollywood Story. I find it amazing how popular the show was back then and how crazy those fans were. I found it disappointing, but not too surprising, that they could only get Screech and Mr. Belding for interviews. They showed clips of earlier interviews for the rest of the "stars." Geez, Mr. Belding has really let himself go after all these years.

This story caught me off guard. The Sharks, frequently documented in the sidebar, have been struggling. It was thought once they got their pieces back together, they'd succeed. They got Thornton back. Then Nabokov and Stuart signed. And what happened? Only slight improvement. With this talented group of people, someone had to take the fall. And so, the coach got fired. Darryl Sutter was a good coach. He brought the Sharks back to respectability. This was no way to treat him. Management will note his poor home record and the fact that their biggest struggle is on defense when Sutter utilizes a defense-first system, but he's been coaching this team 5 years. At least give him more time to let the team gel again. The Lakers have Shaq back after his injury, but they're still struggling. Yet, no one's advocating the ouster of Phil Jackson.

But GM Dean Lombardi got a little impatient and so we wait for his next coach. This will be his third coach to hire. His first choice should have been Sutter, but instead went for Al Sims, who only lasted a season. Let's hope his choice won't last just one.

In addition, being a Bay Area coach doesn't mean you'll be in it for the long haul. With the removal of Sutter, 49ers coach Steve Mariucci will be the only guy with more than 1 year of Bay Area experience in any pro league. The Raiders, A's, Giants, Warriors, and now Sharks all have new coaches this year. Include the colleges, you add in SJSU football coach Fitz Hill and the basketball coaches at Cal, Ben Braun, and Stanfurd, Mike Montgomery with some experience. All the others have new coaches this year.

Finally, when I got back to Berkeley, there was a return to normalcy. It seems the homeless have turned the area in front of City Hall into People's Park. Many tents out in front or just big blankets. It's a funny sight for some odd reason, but then again not so since I live 4 blocks away.